


Flower of This Purple Dye

by DoreyG



Category: Benjamin January Mysteries - Barbara Hambly
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulbond Forms During Moments of Extreme Empathy, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Book 6: Wet Grave, Hugs, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:20:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24391957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoreyG/pseuds/DoreyG
Summary: "What about you? Do your embraces often result in intense pain for both parties involved?"
Relationships: Benjamin January/Abishag Shaw
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8
Collections: Writing Rainbow Make Up Round, Writing Rainbow: Purple





	Flower of This Purple Dye

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sholio](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sholio/gifts).



Shaw yelped, a sound that he'd never heard from the man before, and staggered backwards clutching his arm. He would've been worried, Shaw was seemingly adamant about never showing any signs of distress, but he was too focused on the boiling pain radiating from his own arm to pay much attention to anything else.

It cleared within a minute, faded as quickly as it'd arrived, but he still felt weak and shaky in the aftermath. He sunk down to the ground, gasping. Had to breathe through his nose for a long few moments, before he could gather the presence of mind to glance over at where Shaw was crumpled in much the same attitude.

"So," Shaw was the first one to speak. Which was a mercy, because he had no idea what to say after such an experience. "That often happen when you hug people, maestro?"

"Not in the forty odd years of my life I can remember, no," he said, and was pleased when his voice emerged regular and steady. "What about you? Do your embraces often result in intense pain for both parties involved?"

"Don't embrace overmany people, to tell truth. But no, that was a brand new experience for me too." Shaw winced a little, dragged himself into an upright position before probing at his arm with a surprisingly delicate touch. "Doesn't seem to hurt anymore, at least. Wonder if it's left a mark…"

He drew in a few deep breaths, gathering himself. Crawled awkwardly over the ground towards Shaw, with the vague idea in his head that he should be a little closer by if any medical help was needed.

As such he was close enough to see Shaw roll back the arm of his shirt to reveal the skin underneath, and then to see Shaw pause as his entire face wrinkled in confusion at what awaited him.

'Benjamin Janvier' was written on the grubby flesh of Shaw's forearm in looping cursive. And not just any looping cursive, but a strangely familiar one. He would've sworn on his life, and not just his own life but the lives of his friends and family, that he hadn't broken into Shaw's rooms last night and stabbed a pen into his arm, but you wouldn't have known it to look at the man.

"That's… mighty unexpected, I'm not going to lie," Shaw murmured, and glanced up at him with incredibly focused eyes as he drew in a gulp of air and scrambled for his own shirt sleeve. "I have the feeling that you know what's going on here, though."

"I have some idea, yes." The sight of his own arm was no surprise. 'Abishag Shaw' was scrawled on his flesh in a familiar chicken scratch, one that he'd seen marking seemingly a thousand reports over the past two years. "I didn't think it could ever actually happen, though. It was a legend, one used to soothe scared children."

"Doesn't seem so legendary at the moment," Shaw pointed out, rather accurately all things considered. "Can you explain it to me? All simple like, so I don't get confused."

"Please, like you're confused by anything," he said, and gave Shaw a very pointed look. One that, for some reason, the man blinked and flushed at. "The legend goes that when two people experience a moment of pure empathy, a moment where they're both absolutely on the same page, a bond comes into being between them. A bond of souls, that can never be broken."

"Soulmates," Shaw said thoughtfully, and stared into space for a long moment as he thought it through. Despite himself, despite the fact that Shaw had just hugged him willingly in public, he found himself bracing for whatever would come next. "Well, it's not the worst news I've ever had. What's your opinion on it, maestro?"

He blinked. Blinked again, significantly harder this time, and couldn't help staring at Shaw in utter shock. "My opinion…?"

"Is rather the one that matters here," Shaw said, very deliberately. If he didn't know the man so well, if he couldn't see the nervous energy frozen in those long limbs, he would've thought Shaw perfectly calm in every way. "For my part I'm absolutely fine with my soulmate being a smart, funny, incredibly brave and distractingly dashing man. But you may feel differently, and I'm not exactly inclined to force my opinion on the subject onto you."

He stared, utterly taken aback. He had assumed the worst of Shaw, had assumed that a brutal reprisal waited ahead even though all evidence had pointed to the contrary. He was always assuming the worst of Shaw, was always assuming that dark shadows waited ahead, and he had good reasons for doing so, but…

"Ben?" Shaw asked, his voice wavering uncertainly for the first time since he'd met the man.

But none of those reasons had anything to do with Shaw himself. They never really had.

"I think that we should talk to my sister as soon as possible, see if there are any side effects," he said, very slowly . But then reached out a hand to wrap gently around Shaw's arm, just as the man's face was starting to shutter. "But otherwise I agree with you. There are far worse things, than a soulbond with one of the best men I've ever known."

"Oh," Shaw said, and hesitated for only a moment before giving a smile as bright as the sun.


End file.
